Pursuing Happiness
In "A Baby Just Like You" John Denver sings,
This morning I took my eight-year-old daughter, Mary Margaret, to the family mausoleum on a little farm south of town. How well I remember the sad and sweltering day 20 Julys ago when we laid my grandmother to rest. And there lies her brother (Lincoln blogged about him here), a former state GOP chairman who died much too young at age 50. As a 40-year-old, that gets my attention.
So there's lots of reflecting, but to what end? Fifteen years ago last night Susie and I were married in Bartlesville, so last night we went to see Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness (which I recommend). Smith's character repeatedly ponders that phrase, wondering what exactly Jefferson meant by it. I couldn't help but think of my former professor Gary Amos, an attorney who also has a theology degree, who made the point in his book Defending the Declaration that "happiness" in that document refers to that "sense of well-being and blessedness in [man's] earthly existence that comes with obeying the laws of his Creator." Amos reminds us that the Latin equivalent for "happy" is beatus (think Beatitudes: Happy is the man who ...).
So now we're getting somewhere. There's a lot of pain and a lot of troubled hearts in this world, with lots of people pursuing what they think will bring them happiness. The movie's soundtrack features a familiar song. "When darkness comes / And pain is all around / Like a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down." But the only one who can untrouble our troubled hearts, who can bring us true happiness, is our Creator who became a baby and laid down his life for his elect creatures. We will only find true happiness when we believe the gospel and live the way He created us to live.
December 30 update: We're finally back in Edmond, but not before the trip down memory lane concluded with a terrific lunch today at Southern Hills with my Uncle Ty. Here's Jack Henry enjoying a hot fudge sundae.
The season is upon us nowI tend to do a lot of reflecting when I spend the year's final week in my hometown, as I have this week. It's been especially true in this my fortieth year. Coming back to my boyhood home (where my parents still live) on a ranch east of Bartlesville, the memories are all around me. As I walk around I see 14-year-old Lincoln and his cousin fishing and shooting BB guns in the very places I did as a boy. There's the pine tree we planted a few hours after Lincoln was born; now it's taller than I am. A couple nights ago we made the obligatory stop at Murphy's and sat at the very booth we occupied 12 hours before Lincoln was born. Here in a moment I'm going to grab a cup of coffee with my chum Todd Cone, who's been my friend since the third grade. As I say, the memories are everywhere.
The time for gifts and giving;
As the year draws to its close
I think about my living.
This morning I took my eight-year-old daughter, Mary Margaret, to the family mausoleum on a little farm south of town. How well I remember the sad and sweltering day 20 Julys ago when we laid my grandmother to rest. And there lies her brother (Lincoln blogged about him here), a former state GOP chairman who died much too young at age 50. As a 40-year-old, that gets my attention.
So there's lots of reflecting, but to what end? Fifteen years ago last night Susie and I were married in Bartlesville, so last night we went to see Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness (which I recommend). Smith's character repeatedly ponders that phrase, wondering what exactly Jefferson meant by it. I couldn't help but think of my former professor Gary Amos, an attorney who also has a theology degree, who made the point in his book Defending the Declaration that "happiness" in that document refers to that "sense of well-being and blessedness in [man's] earthly existence that comes with obeying the laws of his Creator." Amos reminds us that the Latin equivalent for "happy" is beatus (think Beatitudes: Happy is the man who ...).
So now we're getting somewhere. There's a lot of pain and a lot of troubled hearts in this world, with lots of people pursuing what they think will bring them happiness. The movie's soundtrack features a familiar song. "When darkness comes / And pain is all around / Like a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down." But the only one who can untrouble our troubled hearts, who can bring us true happiness, is our Creator who became a baby and laid down his life for his elect creatures. We will only find true happiness when we believe the gospel and live the way He created us to live.
December 30 update: We're finally back in Edmond, but not before the trip down memory lane concluded with a terrific lunch today at Southern Hills with my Uncle Ty. Here's Jack Henry enjoying a hot fudge sundae.
